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Net Neutrality Is Trump's Next Target, Administration Says (fiercetelecom.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fierce Telecom: During a press event yesterday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that next up on President Trump's telecom agenda is to roll back the FCC's 2015 Open Internet net neutrality rules. However, according to some reports, that might not happen as quickly as Congress' recent move to rescind rules that prevented internet service providers from selling users' data. As noted by the New York Times, Spicer said that President Trump had "pledged to reverse this overreach" created by net neutrality. He said the FCC's net neutrality rules, passed in 2015, are an example of "bureaucrats in Washington" placing unfair restrictions on internet service providers, essentially "picking winners and losers" in the telecom market. In comments aimed at the wider telecom market, Spicer said Trump will "continue to fight Washington red tape that stifles American innovation, job creation and economic growth." However, as the NYT reports, the process to repeal net neutrality likely won't follow the same procedure as Congress' recent vote to remove broadband privacy rules -- since those rules were only a year old, Congress was able to use the Congressional Review Act to move forward with its action. The FCC's net neutrality rules, however, are more than two years old and so can't be reviewed by that same act. Thus, it may fall on newly installed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to rescind the FCC's Open Internet rules, which he voted against when he was a commissioner at the agency under former chief Tom Wheeler.

136 comments

  1. Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2, Informative

    I pity those who actually thought he cares about IT and science as evident by the posts.

    Enjoy those non existent tax cuts and ISPs selling your browsing history and capped low QOS connections. Don't let your employer find your porn history?

    1. Re:Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by s.petry · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I pity those who actually thought he cares about IT and science as evident by the posts.

      At least a bit more than other politicians who have continually expanded H1Bs and didn't even bother with rhetoric denouncing companies that outsourced their IT (Disney, UCSF Hospital, etc..) Time will tell, but at least we have the rhetoric coming from a politician.

      Enjoy those non existent tax cuts and ISPs selling your browsing history and capped low QOS connections.

      More crystal ball reading.. The law that was repealed never went into effect. Here is an idea though.. how about you petition Government for a better law instead of whining about the law that never did anything being revoked?

      Don't let your employer find your porn history?

      Most employers won't have a problem with your porn habits, unless it's the kind that is illegal. Some employers would despise my reading habits, mainly those with leftist leadership. Not many of those would mind me having a copy of Marx but Friedman, Plato, Levin, Hegel, Nietzsche , and the Federalist papers, those are potential problems.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    2. Re:Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's not about IT or science. Not even privacy or surveillance. It's all about screwing H1Bs. This is what /.ers care about.

    3. Re:Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how about you petition Government for a better law instead of whining about the law that never did anything being revoked?

      Never happen. Can't stand for real privacy legislation when Google and Facebook are bankrolling your corrupt shit.

    4. Re: Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, all those bourgeoisie, Marx-loving industry leaders *hate* Friedman and Hegel...

    5. Re:Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      So then do you oppose automation and support government to get involved to stop it? Or do you favor the free market for these out of work employees who never better themselves like most slashdoters?

    6. Re:Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Funny, I pity those idiots who think the general public did not care about privacy or equal access. Idiot Republicans just blew their lead in one quick hit. Gone in two years and two years latter both privacy and equal access put back in place and people will abso-fucking-lutely loathe the piece of shit fuck heads at the scummy ISPs, talk about blowing away their future, fucking idiots. Morons who think they can still get away with this shit, boy, do they have a lesson to learn. The new privacy laws and data audits will be quite tough and the penalties very high, great empty pyrrhic victory, morons, wow will you end up paying a huge fucking price for it, billions gone.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    7. Re: Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Why do people keep saying that the law wasn't in effect yet so there is no issue. Let's think about this. Let's say hordes of people are being tortured and a law is passed that would stop that abuse and it takes effect on Friday. You are one of the victims and you knew you were about to be free on Friday, then this happened and your not. Now I am asking you, if your that guy in that situation are you seriously going to try to tell us it doesn't matter because it hasn't gone into effect yet?

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    8. Re: Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Why do people keep saying that the law wasn't in effect yet so there is no issue.

      Because that is the truth, the Law was not in effect. There is absolutely no change to anything with this law being revoked.

      Let's think about this. Let's say hordes of people are being tortured and a law is passed that would stop that abuse and it takes effect on Friday. You are one of the victims and you knew you were about to be free on Friday, then this happened and your not. Now I am asking you, if your that guy in that situation are you seriously going to try to tell us it doesn't matter because it hasn't gone into effect yet?

      Oh, I see. We have to argue with an absurd level of delusion to claim the law should have remained. Appeal to emotion is the answer! Thanks, I could have never seen the light without your fallacious arguments!

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    9. Re:Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 1

      Wow. So Comcast can sell your browsing history to your boss, but that's OK because "most employers won't have a problem with your porn habits unless it's the kind that's illegal"???

      Maybe it doesn't matter to your employer, but not all of us work at Wal-Mart.

    10. Re:Again GOP is not friends to /.ers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't let your employer find your porn history?

      If my employer has a problem with me using my home connection in my time to browse legal content then he'd better be prepared for either:

      1. the insults and the subsequent "I QUIT" coming his way.

      2. Getting used to seeing nothing but VPN traffic; considering this is my connection, not his, there's not an awful lot legally he can do about it.

  2. Re:Trump is right by jandrese · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Can you give an example of a situation where an Internet startup has been hampered by the net neutrality rules?

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  3. Cat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Excuse me nice gentlemen. I don't mean to interrupt but, I've been searching news articles trying to find my cat. Have you seen my cat?

    1. Re: Cat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's always in the last place you look.

  4. Re:Trump is right by ClickOnThis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Net Neutrality was overreach, that instead of helping the people who wanted it, made sure it was harder than ever to compete agains the big ISP's like Comcast.

    Are you on crack? Net Neutrality helped to kill the Comcast-Time Warner merger.

    Stopping Comcast and Time Warner from merging into a super-company makes it easier, not harder, to compete against them.

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  5. Go ahead by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From what I remember the last time this came up, there were about 150 companies that signed a letter as proponents of net neutrality including major players like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. So if were the Democrats I would frame this as Trump being anti-business.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:Go ahead by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 0

      From what I remember the last time this came up, there were about 150 companies that signed a letter as proponents of net neutrality including major players like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.

      After the way Silicon Valley companies treated Trump during the campaign, they shouldn't expect a lot of support from him during his presidency.

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    2. Re:Go ahead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, no corporation ever supported the party in power. All of those companies made major contributions to Democratic Party politicians.

      I'd say they were positioning themselves to be the winners here, thus shutting down any competition using their willing Democratic Party tools.

    3. Re: Go ahead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Isn't it a bit soon to discard the "President for all Americans" bullshit?

    4. Re:Go ahead by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Right, no corporation ever supported the party in power. All of those companies made major contributions to Democratic Party politicians.

      So you know that all 150 companies supported Democrats? How? Or are you asserting something without proof?

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    5. Re:Go ahead by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

      I don't believe many of these companies have changed their minds about Net Neutrality regardless of who is in power. Amazon, Google, and Netflix have vested interests in keeping the internet the way it is.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    6. Re:Go ahead by lucm · · Score: 0

      interesting quote from the Wikipedia entry on this issue:

      A richly funded Web site, which delivers data faster than its competitors to the front porches of the Internet service providers, wants it delivered the rest of the way on an equal basis. This system, which Google calls broadband neutrality, actually preserves a more fundamental inequality

      --
      lucm, indeed.
    7. Re:Go ahead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice trolling. But Netflix is fact enough to bury that hatchet piece.

      More interesting bit, which is actual NPOV instead of a quote from an external source:

      any violations to network neutrality, realistically speaking, will not involve genuine investment but rather payoffs for unnecessary and dubious services

  6. Re:Other way round by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can you give an example where the net neutrality rules actually did anything useful in terms of stopping an ISP from doing something they should not?

    Like the Netflix vs. Comcast spat? Seemed like it suddenly resolved itself once the new rules came out...

  7. Re:Other way round by SirSlud · · Score: 5, Insightful

    > made sure it was harder than ever to compete agains the big ISP's like Comcast. ...

    > It's hard to prove some company is not starting up because of regulations concerns.

    You do a wonderful job of arguing against yourself.

    > What we know for sure is that more regulations mean more work for companies (in terms of hiring lawyers) to make sure they are complying with rules. That is beyond dispute.

    No, it's really not.

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"
  8. Re:Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Trump voters deserve what they get. Their "analysis" of current issues proves it time and time again. Getting fucked couldn't happen to a better group of morons. Schadenfreude is rich.

  9. Re:Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Trump voters deserve what they get.

    Yeah, and morons themselves, Hillary voters deserve Trump also. Democrats fucked it up real good.

  10. The Art of the Stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trump voters keep making excuses for this extremely fat real estate con man.

    1. Re: The Art of the Stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they didn't they'd have to admit they were even more stupid than he is, and that he conned them. And that ain't gonna happen.

  11. Re:Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude, you are a fucking moron. Do you always side with stupidity? I am just asking since you are batting 1000 so far.

  12. Trump's a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Trump is a little bitch. As are his supporters. This comes as no surprise. He meant 0% of what he said during the campaign, has near zero interest in policy details and is just interested in other people seeing him as a "winner". Which proves he and his supporters are losers. Trump is an elderly version of Charlie Sheen.

    1. Re:Trump's a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      As an AC, you get insightful and upvoted to a 3, yet all you did was name call and trash talk.

      This is insightful? You're just complaining and name calling.

    2. Re:Trump's a bitch by Ryanrule · · Score: 1

      suck it bitch

    3. Re: Trump's a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe because it's the fucking truth. Deal with it.

    4. Re: Trump's a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do anti-trumpers always come off so faggy?

  13. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Informative

    That was resolved (correctly) BEFORE REGULATION.

    No it wasn't, and your link is proof of that. Your "resolution" involved Netflix paying a fee to Comcast to deliver packets that Comcast's customers had already paid for. Capitulating to extortion is not the same thing as a resolution.

  14. Can't tell if I should worry or not. by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    On the one hand, Trump does whatever he wants with Executive Orders and doesn't care about how it effects consumers.
    One the other hand, he fucks up so much of his agenda I wonder if he will accomplish any harm.

    1. Re:Can't tell if I should worry or not. by gtall · · Score: 1

      Most of his executive orders are mere show, he'd need Congress or changes to international agreements to make any real changes. The latest example is his order for agencies to scour U.S. trading partners for signs of dumping. He cannot arbitrarily impose sanctions on trading partners. Those are governed by WTO rules. His order was merely to impress the people who take him seriously.

  15. NATO is Trump's next target... by bit+trollent · · Score: 0, Troll

    Donald Trump's puppet masters in Russia have commanded him to destroy our alliances and undermine NATO.

    Donald Trump is dutifully following Vladamir Putin's orders to sabotage America at all levels.

    After all, Donald Trump's bribes have already been payed, and his tape has already been peed on.

    Vladimir Putin owns Donald Trump and is controlling our foreign policy through him.

    1. Re:NATO is Trump's next target... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FATASS CON MAN trying to suck up to working class whites by threatening Muslims and Mexicans on Twitte

    2. Re:NATO is Trump's next target... by penandpaper · · Score: 0

      This tripe again? The only thing that can destroy the alliance at this point in time is alliance members not fulfilling their agreements. Only 5 member nations meet the defense spending requirement goals. Those other nations are doing more to undermine the alliance than Putin could ever dream of doing. Who in their right mind would want to stay in an alliance with members that are too cowardly to defend themselves and too ashamed to defend liberty?

      What the fuck is the alliance defending if Europe is too cowardly and ashamed to stand up for the liberty's and freedoms the alliance was meant to protect? What the fuck is the alliance for if Europe is destabilizing itself with shit policies? Europe has been flirting with authoritarian tyranny at the expense of liberty while expecting others to pay for their defense, security, and economic stability. Same with Canada.

      The Alliance is not there to protect cowardice for the sake of cowardice and shame. But rather the western tradition of freedom, liberty, and democracy. If those values are lost to Europe and Canada then the alliance has already died.

      How the fuck do you keep the man with the most powerful military behind him under your thumb? Why would Trump oblige Putin when Trump has the stronger military and economy? Because of a piss fetish? How retarded are you?

    3. Re:NATO is Trump's next target... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How Obtuse are you? He probably owes a lot of money to the Russians, that would allow them to pull his strings easily. But we're not allowed to know who he owes money to.

    4. Re:NATO is Trump's next target... by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      lol, I don't know which is more ridiculous. Trump being under Putin's thumb for a piss fetish or because of money. If it was money, what is to stop Trump from saying "Not going to pay. You can shove it."? What is Russia going to do? Seize his assets in Russia? Make a fit? Send their money collectors? Try and assassinate Trump? Do you think Russia would risk war over a few million dollars? What can Russia honestly do against POTUS? Embarrass him. Oh noes! How retarded are you?

      Not allowed to know or was it politically worthless? Just ask Romney what releasing his tax returns did for him. Sure, it's important but then again blame the democrats for framing the conversation as "Everything is sexist. Everything is racist. Everything is homophobic. Everything is xenophobic."

      Seriously, how retarded are you?

  16. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That only shows that two behemoths can duke it out. What about smaller content sites that can't?

  17. No problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ajit Pai is Telecom's bitch and should change his name to Ajit Paid.

  18. Re:Other way round by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's hard to prove some company is not starting up because of regulations concerns. It's on you to prove the regulations are useful and used.

    Er what? The regulation that is in place is that no one has to pay for preferential treatment. What you are saying is as asinine as saying prove to me that because anyone can drive in any lane on a freeway that no one is being harmed by that.

    What we know for sure is that more regulations mean more work for companies (in terms of hiring lawyers) to make sure they are complying with rules. That is beyond dispute. That cost gets passed along to the consumer, one way or another.

    Your premise is flawed in that you are asserting that companies must hire more lawyers to comply with net neutrality. No what they must do is the same thing they have done since the birth of the Internet.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  19. Re:The Other Side of that Dark Coin by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

    You must live in an alternative reality because many consumer groups were in favor of net neutrality. Or are you just lying?

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  20. is there any lobbyist that trump won't obey? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    jesus christ, will this dude ever grow a pair...

  21. Moms & Apple Pie are Trump's Next Target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because why the hell not? They're just pulling random bullshit out of their asses up on the WH nowadays.

    All rules and laws must go! Fire sale of the century! Next 4 years only!

  22. Re:Other way round by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "It's on you to prove the regulations are useful and used." Nope, it isn't!

  23. Wrong-way round by haggie · · Score: 1

    Show me any group other than an ISPs, cable broadband companies, or their shills that want to remove or cripple net neutrality. That is all you need to know.

    Is it better for consumers? Does it promote new technology? Does it create a more competitive landscape? Does it build a robust marketplace? Or does it simply exist to further strengthen and enrich companies that already, in most cases, have a government-created monopoly?

    1. Re:Wrong-way round by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It MAKES AMERICA GREAT AGAIN by hurting the poor. No one cares about the poor, if you do you don't belong in Trump's America.

  24. Re:You have that very, very wrong by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    That was resolved (correctly) BEFORE REGULATION. It is the proof that regulation was not needed.

    You seem to forget that the current regulation is to keep the net neutral as it has been since the beginning of the internet. What you are saying is misleading.

    All the FCC did was not to change what existed before. That is unless you believe in alternative facts.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  25. Re: The Other Side of that Dark Coin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Net neutrality is good for businesses and consumers. To employ a simple analogy that even Trump fans might understand, the rules prevent toll booth owners from charging extra fees if you happen to be carrying movies or CDs or porn or whatever they decide they can charge for. Abolition of the rules helps only the businesses who own the network.

  26. Re:Other way round by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

    Can you give an example where the net neutrality rules actually did anything useful in terms of stopping an ISP from doing something they should not?

    It is too bad for you that goalpost moving is not an Olympic sport. You would win the gold.

  27. nyet neutrality by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    n/t

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  28. Re: Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Yeah they really screwed the pooch. Putting Hillary up as their candidate gave the republicans all they needed to buy Trump and have him do their bidding after his obvious victory.
    There is no president right now, he is a puppet. Trump being president is literally the government running a social experiment on us.

  29. MOD PARENT DOWN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The parent post doesn't contribute anything of substance to the discussion. Please mod it down to -1 Offtopic.

    1. Re:MOD PARENT DOWN by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

      The parent post doesn't contribute anything of substance to the discussion. Please mod it down to -1 Offtopic.

      I agree. The GP is clearly trying to impugn the character of the President of the United States by suggesting some connection to Russia, which is ridiculous on its face. He should be modded down severely.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  30. Re: Trump is right by colin_faber · · Score: 1

    Sorry but no. One persons speculation isn't proof that nn did anything here. More than likely what killed the deal was the fact that it would allow a shithead company to continue to grow and become an even bigger and more destructive monopoly

  31. Re:You have that very, very wrong by lucm · · Score: 0, Troll

    Capitulating to extortion is not the same thing as a resolution.

    So first you say the OP is wrong because the Netflix vs Comcast thing was resolved after the new rules came out, but when the OP shows that it was before, suddenly he's wrong because now you don't consider the thing to be resolved. You're like that guy who peddles bullets that can penetrate any bulletproof vests, then comes back the following week peddling bulletproof vests that stop any bullet.

    I had no opinion about net neutrality but the more I read posts like yours, the more I realize that there's very little substance and a lot of bullshit on your side of that fence.

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  32. Clinton and plenty of DNCers aren't either. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    DMCA, SOPA/TPP (before flipflopping), the anti-encryption stuff, a bunch of surveillance bills, etc.

    Between her, Pelosi, Feinstein, and others the overripe clam chowder of the DNC has been just as far in bed with Big Brother as the elephants who never forget. Incest is wincest for the political elite, no matter which side of the table they choose to sit on.

    1. Re:Clinton and plenty of DNCers aren't either. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What I find pretty ironic is that the most anti-liberty, anti-privacy, anti-accountability powerful Dems, Pelosi and Feinstein, supposedly represent the Californian techno-meritocratic, startup-minded, pro-privacy liberals.

      It's an unorthodox and non-PC thought, but perhaps the Bay Area hyperintelligent technocrats are not so progressive anyway, and their representatives are actually doing a faithful job?

    2. Re:Clinton and plenty of DNCers aren't either. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What I find pretty ironic is that the most anti-liberty, anti-privacy, anti-accountability powerful Dems, Pelosi and Feinstein, supposedly represent the Californian techno-meritocratic, startup-minded, pro-privacy liberals.

      It's an unorthodox and non-PC thought, but perhaps the Bay Area hyperintelligent technocrats are not so progressive anyway, and their representatives are actually doing a faithful job?

      You obviously don't work for one of those Bay Area companies. Many of them are beginning to fall apart internally due to things like wage increases because "gender" and "Ethnicity" instead of merit, promoting technocratic policies inside the company, demanding support for those same powerful Dems, ostracizing Conservative views, etc...

      I happen to work for one, hence posting AC. Moral sucks for half the company, people simply take advantage of any opportunity to "not" work, and let problems (like security issues) go without mention let alone a fix.

      We all see what's happening to Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. The only people for the SJW policies happen to be the benefactor (or believe they are) of the policies. The rest of us just wait for the ship to sink and are looking for or trying to help create better alternatives. The latter being difficult due to monopoly powers.

  33. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Informative

    It wasn't resolved until Netflix was able to stop paying those fees, and that didn't happen until the laws were changed. Make up your own mind, by all means, but if you can't appreciate the distinction I was drawing and recognize that the other poster was being disingenuous in suggesting that things had been resolved, I doubt we'll be seeing eye to eye.

  34. Re:You have that very, very wrong by UnknowingFool · · Score: 0

    So what you are saying is that you have nothing to contribute to the statement or the validity of the argument?

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  35. Re:Trump is right by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    The day we need a lynch mob we'll make sure to call you.

    And the day we need someone to use strawman arguments, we'll call you. The poster didn't threaten anyone with harm. He asked why SuperKendall "always sided with stupidity".

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  36. Re:Trump is right by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    But your argument relies on the consumer having a choice between ISPs and that ISPs compete. In many places consumers don't have a choice. I get so many mailers from AT&T about their low, low Internet rates. Despite weekly mailers, they don't service my area. Google Fiber: No. Verizon Fiber: No. Spectrum: The only choice. So when I had issues last summer with my router going down nearly every week, I couldn't do anything but call and complain again.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  37. Achilles's heel of technolibertarianism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Net neutrality is the Kryptonite of /. technolibertarianism.

    On one hand, technolibertarians hate big telcos and the way they treat traffic with preference, because technically telcos and their practices suck. /.ers want the free market to screw them, so that information traffic is free again. Neutral pipes also fit into the technolibertarian mind because they're more modular, more Unixy in philosophy, more robust in design, with separation of concern between content and transport.

    On the other hand, technolibertarians also hate Net Neutrality because it's top-down government central planning. /.ers hate top-down heavy-handed regulation from a central power they inherently view skeptically, and they trust decentralized, free-market, and techno-meritocratic solutions better. If Big Government can force the ways of telcos, it can equally use the powers against you. If Big Gov can take away means to profit from big telcos, it can equally rob you.

    There's no way out. We'll end up with the worst of both worlds, which is what we have now.

  38. Re:Trump is right by ClickOnThis · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Trump voters deserve what they get. Their "analysis" of current issues proves it time and time again. Getting fucked couldn't happen to a better group of morons. Schadenfreude is rich.

    Alas, Trump voters are nowhere near the only ones getting fucked.

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  39. Does this really constitute an agenda? by damn_registrars · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It seems that all Trump wants to do is undo anything that Obama is credited for doing. If he can't do that, he'll settle for putting his name at the bottom of something that Obama already did so he gets credit for it. And if that doesn't work he'll make sure the media is paying more attention to his latest controversy so we don't remember his most recent failures.

    Indeed it seems that Trump's agenda is primarily self-promotion. Being as that has been his primary business since his first step inside the wrestling ring years ago (and arguably his best business venture ever) this shouldn't be much of a surprise.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:Does this really constitute an agenda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bannon's goal is to "deconstruct" (how cultural Marxist of him) the admistrative state. Trump has no agenda. Trump is Bannon's agenda.

      It can be good or bad. A crippled government cannot take away your liberties. Also, a crippled government cannot stop the evildoers from taking away your liberties.

    2. Re:Does this really constitute an agenda? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      A crippled government cannot take away your liberties. Also, a crippled government cannot stop the evildoers from taking away your liberties.

      It can't take away the liberties that it cripples its ability to take away, but it doesn't have to cripple its ability to take away all your liberties equally.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Does this really constitute an agenda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except, don't you suppose that the president after Trump will take pleasure for, and the credit, for undoing all of Trump's decisions? That's the cycle. All of his supporters who were angry at Obama's decisions are praising the undoing of Obama's, and that makes you as identically sheeple-like as they are. It's a two-party system that just endlessly loops by claiming victory over undoing the last guy's decisions, and believing that the newer undoing is better as a supporter, or that the sky is falling and a sham if you're the opposition. Every. Single. Cycle.

  40. Nothing like ignoring history by s.petry · · Score: 1

    Remember CISPA and SOPA? Dropped because of public outrage at the Bill. Okay, maybe your own personal crusade won't evoke change, but that is working as intended. If it happened to be a good Bill and you had enough public support behind it, you at least have a chance.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  41. Re:The Other Side of that Dark Coin by lucm · · Score: 1, Informative

    You must live in an alternative reality because many consumer groups were in favor of net neutrality. Or are you just lying?

    Did you actually look at that list of "consumer groups" before linking it? Or did you just chase a good headline and leave it to that, hoping that your clever accusation of living in an alternative reality would be a good smokescreen?

    Here's the list of those organizations, some even signed twice and the poster made sure to mix them up. Can you please indicate which of those are "consumer groups"? I see one, maybe two, unless you consider United Church of Christ as a consumer group.

    Alliance for Community Media (cable TV lobby)
    Future of Music Coalition (indie music labels lobby)
    American Civil Liberties Union
    American Library Association
    Benton Foundation
    Consumer Federation of America
    Center for Democracy and Technology
    Electronic Privacy Information Center
    Internet Archive
    Common Cause
    Free press
    Knowledge Ecology International (that's Ralph Nader)
    Media Access Project
    New America Foundation
    Tribal Digital Village
    Media and Democracy Coalition
    United Church of Christ
    National Alliance for Media, Arts and Culture
    Public Knowledge
    USPIRG (that's Ralph Nader too)
    National Federation of Community Broadcasters
    Special Libraries Association
    Writers Guild of America, West

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  42. Re:Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesus, is there anything you won't be an apologist for in this in this administration, SuperKendall?

  43. Re:Trump is right by Woldscum · · Score: 1

    Can you give an example of a situation where an Internet startup has been hampered by the net neutrality rules?

    The problem is define "Net Neutrality". Everyone has a different definition.

  44. "picking winners and losers" by future+assassin · · Score: 2

    Huh I must have been wrong thinking that having the money power to lobby/donate to politicians was using the political system to set winner and losers, the winning going to the one who donated the most money.

    Well I guess Trump better dismantle the government.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  45. if it ain't broke by lucm · · Score: 0

    Show me any group other than an ISPs, cable broadband companies, or their shills that want to remove or cripple net neutrality. That is all you need to know.

    That's an oversimplification. Why don't you explain instead how exactly Internet is so broken that it needs more regulations?

    --
    lucm, indeed.
    1. Re:if it ain't broke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't worry, you'll soon enough get to know what it is to pay for each service alteast three times.

  46. Re: The Other Side of that Dark Coin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What the fuck has happened to my SlashDot?

    This used to be a place for nerds

    The readers are all fucking morons now

    Fuck

  47. Re:Trump is right by lucm · · Score: 0

    The day we need a lynch mob we'll make sure to call you.

    And the day we need someone to use strawman arguments, we'll call you. The poster didn't threaten anyone with harm. He asked why SuperKendall "always sided with stupidity".

    The point is not about threats, the point is about jumping on a bandwagon of bashing someone without providing a reason

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  48. Re:You have that very, very wrong by lucm · · Score: 0

    So what you are saying is that you have nothing to contribute to the statement or the validity of the argument?

    No

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  49. Ya more companies would want neutrality than not by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    No net neutrality is only good for telecoms. If you own a lot of communications infrastructure, then it benefits you as you can play pricing games and screw people over.

    However any company that uses the Internet as a big part of their business, be it people that provide hosting, people that stream media, people that sell products on the net, etc net neutrality is highly desirable because they are the companies that the telcos would be screwing. They want it where all transit is equal and their products reach consumers no matter what.

    Well there's a hell of a lot more companies in the second category than the first and that isn't likely to change.

  50. How will we ever SURVIVE? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If the rules go back to the way they were when the internet was created and grew to what it is today, undoing the rules only put in place by Obama very recently, surely the sky will fall, cats and dogs will be sleeping together, the Earth's magnetic fields will flip, the ocean currents will stop and the atmosphere will become toxic. Getting the federal government out of internet regulation will surely bring about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

    I swear, some people have the attention span of squirrels and the historical knowledge of chipmunks. The USA arose to be the country that invented the semiconductor, the personal computer, the airplane, vaccinations, etc and that broke the sound barrier and put men on the moon ALL WITHOUT ANY RULE, REGULATION, LAW, or AGENCY CREATED SINCE 1969.

    Most human endeavors run perfectly well without being ruled by unelected, unaccountable, anonymous Washington DC bureaucrats lawyers and lobbyists - and indeed the internet itself proved this point between the day it was made available to the public and the day Obama's FCC declared itself in control of it without any legal authorization from the legislative branch (which has the job of representing the people and writing the laws).

    1. Re: How will we ever SURVIVE? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ISPs mostly refrained from anti-consumer double-dip bullshit until recently. Abuse occurred, consequences for abuse were instated. Lawmakers didn't just invent this problem for funsies.

  51. This will fix the privacy issue by tranquilidad · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The reason the privacy regulations were put in place by Obama was because the net neutrality rules put in place eliminated the FTC's purview over selling user data.

    Once the FCC declared the ISPs as common carriers, the FTC's ability to regulate the ISPs went out the window. Because Google and Facebook aren't common carriers the FTC's regulations regarding selling data still apply to them.

    If Trump is successful in rolling back the common carrier definition, which gave us "net neutrality", then the FTC's previous regulations preventing the sale of private information will be back in place.

    You can see more detail about AT&T v. FTC which outlines the problem.

  52. Re:Trump is right by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    How can that be fixed?
    A new federal government connection to every home and select an ISP from say Texas or Florida anywhere in the USA depending on what they offer?
    Make every US ISP equal on existing private networks?
    Allow every ISP in the US able to build their own new networks anywhere or have a local or city government build a network?
    Like the old alarm services?
    The best option would be a community network with many different ISP on it. The city connects hardware to you but offers not network services, select any ISP that offers a good service on that city hardware.
    Bad ISP, just swap it for an ISP with better staff and peering skills.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  53. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What does "Flagged" in the headline mean?

    Net Neutrality Is Trump's Next Target, Administration Says [Flagged]

    1. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hacker News adds Flagged to political stories. Seems Slashdot's april fool's is Hacker News

    2. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the April 1st lame joke from /.'s new corporate overlords. They're parodying Hacker News.

      The problem is that parody only works when you're influential. John Oliver can parody Trump because people actually listens to John. Nobody cares about /. and they're only having fun among themselves.

    3. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yet here you are late on a friday night

    4. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Joke's on you, USian. But of course we know the Earth is flat, is divided into 48 states, and has 4 time zones. MAGA!

    5. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yet you cared enough to come to /. and post here, dumbass.

  54. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Razed+By+TV · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...was resolved after the new rules came out, but when the OP shows that it was before...

    Well, no, it wasn't resolved before.
    Netflix decided that they stood to gain more money than they lost by paying off Comcast, so Netflix paid Comcast, despite Comcast being in the wrong for throttling traffic.
    It is not an industry standard to throttle traffic on a per website basis, and this is traffic that has already been paid for by the consumer.

    Amazon doesn't have to pay Comcast for me to use their site, Slashdot doesn't have to pay Comcast for me to use their site.
    If Netflix and Comcast customers are both paying for access to the internet, why should Netflix be paying an additional Comcast tax on top of that?
    Especially when there was evidence of Comcast throttling connections (Netflix access through VPN was unaffected, while access through Comcast was throttled.)

  55. Headache... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I think "Headache" is the name of the new visual theme here no Slashdot.

    1. Re:Headache... by gtall · · Score: 1

      You got that right. I first saw the new theme this morning...I had to resist the urge to vomit.

    2. Re:Headache... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bbbbut - PONIES!

  56. Re: Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck you, Super Swindle

    You are so far off you aren't even wrong.

    You often post contrary ideas, that's ok, but this is just stupid.

    How do you live with yourself.

  57. Re:Regulations suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The problem is that there is hardly a 'good ol' free market' when it comes to the internet in the US.
    As it is, pretty much all big telcos to have a monopolistic stranglehold on their market. They have no competition because they made sure in many areas that there can't be any competition, through contracts they've signed with communities many years ago. Sure, shitty decision making on the side of the communes, but such anti-free-market contracts should be able to be contested after some time.

    Here in communist Europe we have regulations for local loop unbundling and bit-stream access when it comes to transmission technologies like VDSL2+, forcing the big providers to rent out their last mile infrastructure to other providers at reasonable prices. As a result there are hundreds of different ISPs, all competing with each other over price, service and similar things. As a result I get 500mbit downstream, 200mbit upstream and two hardlines connections for less than $25/month.
    But not in the US. LLUB was evil communism and destroying the market, removing the incentive for smaller ISPs to build their own infrastructure. Look at what the removal of such regulations did to the diversity of your ISP market.
    Of course this doesn't mean that all regulations are good, neither all of them bad. Some regulations can help to level the playing field if the oligopolies do what they do, corner the market and stack the deck in their favour.

  58. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LOL, you think a corporation's job is to lower costs? How cute!

  59. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You're looking at all of this backwards, presumably because you're not aware of the history here. Net neutrality was law from the mid-90s until about 2013 when those laws expired. Within about a year of them expiring, we saw shenanigans like the ones I mentioned above.

    So when you ask what benefit we've seen from net neutrality: Google, Facebook, Netflix, and every other company that began and was able to flourish in that period because net neutrality ensured that they were able to each everyone equally. That's what net neutrality was able to foster.

    On the other hand, I actually agree with some of what you've said in other posts about the free market taking care of things, but there's an issue preventing that from occurring here: exclusivity agreements. Most states and municipalities either signed explicit exclusivity agreements with ISPs (who were eventually bought out by the big players, thus conferring those rights to the big guys), or else granted implicit exclusivity by having laws on the books that prevent competitors from laying their own lines. Those agreements create regional monopolies (i.e. these ISPs are the only ones who even CAN have access to those subscribers), and where we allow monopolies to exist, the free market is incapable of addressing problems, hence why we we heavily regulate monopolies. That's why regulation is necessary here, just as it is in any other monopoly situation.

    Remove the barriers to competition and I'm fine with letting the free market handle things (net neutrality or not, I would LOVE to switch ISPs, but I only have one broadband choice in my area), but don't dismantle the one and only protection we have against bad behavior until you fix the market side first.

  60. Re:The Other Side of that Dark Coin by bidule · · Score: 1

    So, blocking Netflix was pro-consumer?

    --
    ID: the nose did not occur naturally, how would we wear glasses otherwise? (apologies to Voltaire)
  61. Re:Regulations suck by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

    The debate is: should there be a law preventing Comcast from doing whatever the fuck they want with their business?

    My take on this is: no.

    That's a fair summarization, and I would say "it depends". In an actual free market, I'd agree with you that "no" is the answer, since the same would apply equally to Netflix, who would doubtless denounce Comcast's bad behavior and then raise their rates for Comcast's customers, thus prompting Comcast's customers to look for alternative ISPs. Some would leave, some would stay, and some would ditch Netflix. No matter what, problem solved.

    Unfortunately, that isn't able to happen here, since most of those customers have no one else that they can switch to, meaning that without net neutrality, Comcast can (and has demonstrated that they will) leverage their monopoly position with regards to their customers to maximize their already-substantial profits. In a free market, that sort of thing should not be possible in the first place since monopolies are either broken up or regulated to prevent them from leveraging their position for ill-gotten gain. The fact that it happened after net neutrality fell off the books proves that there are still barriers to competition, but that net neutrality is not one of them.

    Fix the exclusivity agreements and local/state laws preventing new entrants and you'll fix the competition problem. In the meantime, either break up or regulate the monopolies as you should.

  62. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >Net neutrality was law from the mid-90s until about 2013 when those laws expired

    Citation needed.

  63. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good old nitpicking.

  64. Swamp by golodh · · Score: 1
    Mr. Trump is starting to look quite at home in the swamp. Even though he'll probably be the last to realize it.

    He's doing deals. He gets a little bit of publicity-generating orders to sign. The crocodiles get fed a few morsels (like consumers and citizens).

    Isn't it nice to see how it all works out in the end?

  65. Privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ISP Selling Internet History

    While collecting the internet history of users will allow companies such as Comcast or AT&T to target consumers with specific ads, it raises the question: how will they actually collect your data?

            Tracking User Location: Thanks to smart devices with GPS, ISPs can access user location and keep a tab on it.
            Complete Packet Inspection: ISPs can not only go through certain pockets of data transmitted over the web, but also data which is used for user protection with complete packet inspection technology.
            Monitoring Online Activities: By monitoring the websites their users go to, ISPs can easily collect, store and sell that information to companies offering the highest bid.
    Secure your data by acquiring PureVPN.

  66. Re:Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And how would you do that?
    How do you think ISPs that currently hold their local monopoly will react to 'anyone' trying to force them to be equal on their own infrastructure with competitors? Here communities that want to build their own infrastructure are part of the 'anyone'.
    How do you think people would react if every week there's a new potential ISP that wants to build their own infrastructure? I do hope they like frequent road construction works or a damn ton of wiring in the sky.

    Because of the local monopolies, laws, and contracts, changes like that require at least some regulations or other government interventions to happen on a larger scale. It doesn't have to be large government as long as local governments is given the power to enforce their own regulations.

  67. Re: Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Easy -
    All packets are created equal. QOS/traffic shaping only allowed when you can prove abuse or undue burden on infrastructure

  68. Re:Regulations suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The second you start regulating service providers, you're killing the incentive to become one.

    If destructive behavior is your incentive to become a service provider, then the regulation is working as intended.

  69. Re:You have that very, very wrong by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

    That was resolved (correctly) BEFORE REGULATION.

    No it wasn't, and your link is proof of that. Your "resolution" involved Netflix paying a fee to Comcast to deliver packets that Comcast's customers had already paid for. Capitulating to extortion is not the same thing as a resolution.

    Aaaaannnnnd SuperKendall disappears!

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  70. Re: Trump is right by kjell79 · · Score: 1

    You just made a fantastic argument as to how regulation fosters innovation. You innovate not charge more! Think of it this way, what does the price tiers do? They price out users based on their usage habits. We want to use the internet in bigger and more innovative ways but there's a ceiling as to your audience even if the true demand is there.

    The fact is telecoms have little incentive to boost their speed and innovate because they're just pulling in easy money. Just about everyone needs the internet but these telecoms answer to their shareholders who want profits to continue increasing at a rate higher than most other basic utilities.

  71. Re:Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What do you mean? Clinton had the perfect campaign: insult, divide, and alienate your voter while ignoring critical swing states and pushing an image that the presidency is owed to you. She only lost because the US can't handle such a perfect campaign.

  72. Re:Regulations suck by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1, Insightful

    In a free market, that sort of thing should not be possible in the first place since monopolies are either broken up or regulated to prevent them from leveraging their position for ill-gotten gain.

    The paradox of the free market. Since it always destroys itself once individual players get big enough, and become intent on destroying their competition, you need regulations to keep that from happening, which means it isn't free any more.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  73. Re:The Other Side of that Dark Coin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Net Neutrality has nothing to do with pro-business but with the idea that when you don't have net neutrality consumers would have to pay extra to get access to some services on the internet. Companies like Google, Amazon and Netflix for example rely on net neutrality with their video on demand services. They do not want to pay for extra band width, nor do they want that their customers/users have to pay extra to get access to their services.
     
    ISP's however are in trouble. Smaller ISP's can not follow the increasing demand in bandwidth. Some countries/area's have a not so ideal spread of the population and offering the required bandwidth becomes cost ineffective. When the government threatens to force ISP's to offer a certain bandwidth at a max price, you can understand that ISP's ask favors in return. In my country we have a duopoly. All the smaller ISP's have been wiped out because they could simply not afford the investements to bring high speed internet. Now everybody has to pay the high costs of missing real competition on the ISP market. There are people who download terabytes of data every month who pay as much as someone who only downloads a gigabyte a month. The law prohibits ISP's to charge more for the super user. In the past there was a download cap of 25 GB with the option to buy extra blocks. This was banned by net neutrality laws and the ISP's were forced to invest in the last mile delivery. This is what killed the smaller ISP's and killed the competition, at least in our country.
     
    I don't know what is best in the end. Of course I want net neutrality so I can access everything that is available. But do I also want to keep my high monthly bill of 120 euro / month if a non neutral internet could lower that to 40 euro / month? For me net neutrality would be better since I don't watch 'real' TV anymore but use streaming services instead. I can watch the handful of programs I like at the time that fits me and order a movie on demand and fill the rest of the time with an occasional game. But the vast majority of people still have their normal cable television and don't bother to watch streams. I think that the majority of those people are in favor to drop net neutrality which is something they do not understand anyway, and choose a lower monthly bill instead.

    Of course than you can say that the government should protect the 'ignorant' people who do not understand net neutrality. But that is again a step in the nanny state model I do reject. We already have too much nanny state in Europe. Do I want even more nanny state simply because I'm in favor of net neutrality? I do not know. I simply do not know. We have net neutrality today, but it didn't stop that only a handful of companies took over the control of the internet and killed competition on the market.

  74. Re:The Other Side of that Dark Coin by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    Did you actually look at that list of "consumer groups" before linking it? Or did you just chase a good headline and leave it to that, hoping that your clever accusation of living in an alternative reality would be a good smokescreen?

    Yes I did. Did you?

    Here's the list of those organizations, some even signed twice and the poster made sure to mix them up. Can you please indicate which of those are "consumer groups"?

    You mean like these groups which you listed: Consumer Federation of America, Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Internet Archive, Common Cause, Free press. Public Knowledge,

    I see one, maybe two, unless you consider United Church of Christ as a consumer group.

    So where did I say that ALL groups listed where consumer groups. I said many. In the above list, I've clarified several. You really are all about strawman arguments, aren't you?

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  75. Re:Trump is right by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    The point is not about threats,

    That's not what you said. You said: "The day we need a lynch mob we'll make sure to call you."

    lynch mob
    noun
    a group of people who want to attack someone who they think has committed a serious crime

    the point is about jumping on a bandwagon of bashing someone without providing a reason

    That also not what the poster said either. He seemed to know Super Kendall's history of inane arguments.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  76. Re:Trump is right by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    A new federal government connection to every home and select an ISP from say Texas or Florida anywhere in the USA depending on what they offer?

    How about actual competition? There have been multiple times that a government, fed up with the poor service of ISPs, have built their own only to face legal action from ISPs.

    Make every US ISP equal on existing private networks?

    How about following the rules that everyone else has to follow.

    Allow every ISP in the US able to build their own new networks anywhere or have a local or city government build a network?

    ISPs have opposed any network not theirs.

    The best option would be a community network with many different ISP on it. The city connects hardware to you but offers not network services, select any ISP that offers a good service on that city hardware.

    Again you have to survive legal actions by current ISPs first.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  77. Re: Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's a paid shill. He sleeps on his sacks of money at night. They infiltrated a low user ID and handed him bags of money to be a slashdot lobbyist. I think he's recruited lucm as well. The fact that everyone of their post is modded down is a telling sign. We aren't buying their shit.

  78. Re: Other way round by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

    No is two letters. You wasted a lot of letters just to say it.

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  79. Re: Trump is right by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

    Here's your reason: SuperKenDoll

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  80. Bad regulations suck by Cinnamon+Beige · · Score: 1

    Things like what Comcast did in forcing Netflix to pay not to be throttled should be recognized as the fraud on the consumer that it is, with all the criminal and civil implications thereof. I'd argue that the best regulations here shouldn't block the consumer from being given the option of buying a package with throttling--but the consumer has to actively consent to anything that's not a dumb-as-a-rock pipe that the ISP only can control the total overall speed thereof & they have to have that as their basic package(s).

  81. Re:Trump is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's like saying it's easier to fight against Russia and China united against us than it is to fight China and Russia "separately" at the same time.